𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒
Chapter One | Till my last breath

EIGHTEEN SIXTY THREE

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"OH, STOP IT DAMON," The beautiful chime of laughter echoed around the clearing as Kalliope ran with a wide grin gracing her blushed features. She squealed with delight, weaving through the multitude of trees. "You know how I don't like to be chased!"

"Nonsense, Flore! You laugh yourself sick every time I catch you." Kalliope carefully dodge his chase, hiding behind a tree trunk with rushed breath. Her eyes squeezed shut as she waited with anticipation.

Of course, he was right. There was nothing quite like the influx of adrenaline she experienced when playing games with Damon Salvatore. The young man knew how to make things fun. He was so carefree and full of joy, she couldn't bare but to smile along with him.

His happiness was contagious and if there was one thing she desired most, and never once received, it was such a grand emotion. With him, she felt it often and that was everything.

In the gentle breeze, she felt the ringlets of her chestnut hair tickle her rounded face. A soft caress in the chaos that was her pulse. She peeked her doe brown eyes open and glanced around her. It was far too quiet and that mounted the anticipation tenfold.

Biting her berry painted bottom lip, she nudged her head around the bark, holding her breath. She wouldn't dare make a sound. Although it was very much day time, she still found the silence scary. Her heart threatened to ricochet out of her chest.

"Now, I have you!" His joking voice startled her terribly, causing Kalliope to scream bloody murder.

Her eyes blew wide as he caught her around the waist. She could've sworn her heart stopped altogether. "How dare you. My goodness, how cruel." Her low melodic voice berated him as she turned in his arms, slapping at his cream blouse clad chest. "I shall never play with you again."

Damon's eyes twinkled with mirth. A culmination of the ocean and heavy rain fall. Kalliope sometimes found herself caught up in the hurricane, slipping beneath the waves. "Come now, Flore, don't be cross. We were having fun."

She pouted, crossing her arms over her bust. The bonnet on her curly head blew in the growing wind, the ribbons slapping at her neck. "Yes, but you gave me a fright. My heart stopped."

Suddenly, his smile grew mischeavous. A tell-tale to his playful thoughts. The brunette didn't trust that certain look at all. Sweeping his hand back majestically, he bowed low, meeting her eyes all the while."Forgive me, m'lady. If there was ever a time to fool your heart, I'm afraid, this moment would be perfect."

"You mean to make me a fool, do you?" Her eyes squinted in indignation.

Damon smirked, "Only for a short while. If you'll indulge me."

Kalliope did not seem convinced of his sudden gallantry; however, she decided to give him this short while. It wasn't often she let his imagination run wild. He was a man, after all. And she couldn't trust many men in her long lifetime. Wringing her hands, she conceded. "I shall... proceed, Damon."

Sighing in some sort of relief, the raven haired Salvatore swiped at his loose fitted pants. Precuring a small, delicate bow - perceived to be hand carved from wood - Damon gracefully stooped down to a knee.

Unexpectedly, Kalliope took a step back. Her plump lips parted in a delicate circle. The dimple in her chin becoming more prominent than ever. She was in shook, bewilderment, astonished. Such a gesture hadn't been known to her in centuries. And the very idea, had her sputtering for a reason.

Kalliope personally thought she was utterly dull. Boring in character. She didn't believe to stood out in anyway other than her beauty. The very thing that attracted men and women alike, was her gifts. Yet, here Damon was, bending a knee to little o'l her.

He didn't even know what she could do yet. That, was surely a first.

"Kalliope Florence Debonair... Flore, you are an accomplished lady. In every sense of the word. Compassionate, gentle, breathtaking in all attitudes - I am spent. Please, will you do me the esteemed honor to be announced as your husband, your partner in life." His crystal blue jewels were sparkling, a honesty in his tone that astounded Kalliope to her core.

It was a vulnerability she had only seen in the face of a man once before and the memory pierced right through her chest like a gun shot.

The ring that he bestowed upon her was modest at best. Surprising, a pearl, passed down through his family for two generations. It must've meant the world to him, she was sure. But whether she was worthy of a such a ring, she did not know for certain.

Her lower lip trembled with nerves. A deep swallow sounding from her petite throat. "You mean to make me a fool, Mr. Salvatore," she repeated with a light inhale.

Damon shook his head, imploring her with his smoldering eyes. "No, only my wife, Flore."

"To bore your children, keep an estate, and grow old with you? Am I a proper fit to the role." She wondered it aloud, voice shaky as she regarded the handsome man before her. Damon was starting to grow with dread. The watery smile on his face was slowly dewindling, but he didn't want to lose hope. This was Kalliope, someone he thought about all day and dreamt of every night. She was a vision. Screaming color in his monochrome existence and he just knew he had to have her.

No obstruction of his father nor deployment to any war could or would stop him from this one fact. He loved Kalliope. She was everything for him. She was more than enough.

Standing to his feet, he towered over her. She had to glanced up to see her favorite pair of eyes. The intimacy in which he stared at her, warmed her insides in a fluttering motion. His large hand caressed the subtle skin of her cheek, smoothing the stray ringlets framing her face.

Gazing between her rich, earthy orbs, his thumb ghosted over her quivering chin. The rise and fall of her chest enticed him to speak his mind, confess his deepest desires. Her presence could coax the darkest of beings into the light.

"You can be whoever, whatever your mind conjures when your with me. I wouldn't dare hold you back, Flore. I promise you that." Damon pulled her closer, an embrace that would be deemed inappropriate in a public setting. However, he didn't seem to care. The eldest Salvatore was always a reckless and free spirit.

His hand laid on the column of her delicate neck, tugging their faces but a breath apart. Kalliope sucked in a sharp gasp. A sting of electricity she never felt to this capacity sliced through her like a blade. He made her heart clench - sob, even. An overwhelming emotion that threatened to be her undoing.

That, she realized fairly quickly, was love. And she didn't know if she wanted more of it or none at all.

His lips brushed against her own, causing her lashes to flutter but she couldn't resist keeping her eyes open. She wanted to see his face. Witness the man declaring his love and devotion to her alone. Maybe then, she'd believe within herself she was worth such a feeling. "Just... be with me. Make me golden."

Kalliope was speechless. Enraptured in the daze that was the charming Salvatore. She loved him, she knew it deep within. There was no need to fake it or bury it down.

Somehow in the dark chaos that was her mind, Kalliope managed to utter a resounding, "Yes," not knowing how to convey just how scared she was to love him unconditionally. Truth was, she was meant to marry Stefan. The younger of the two Salvatore's was the advantageous agreement when she clambered into town.

However, she unconsiously and with unabandon found herself falling for the eldest. And within a moments breath, she dived from the cliff of uncertainty and fully embraced the unexpected desire swelling inside.

Damon made a laugh so full of joy, she felt her mind fog over with his elation. He kissed her like a starving man desperately seeking love and acceptance. Kalliope realized all too quickly, that was what they had in common. They were deprived of the simplest human quality for so long.

Deciding on a whim, she would be the one to guide him to his happy ending - the brunette kissed him back eagerly. Her lips tingled against his own, her cheeks turning rosy as her euphoria grew. An ethereal glow surrounded them. Flowing in the strength of his embrace, in the brush of his lips.

"Yes, yes. I will... I will," Kalliope repeated between each passionate kiss. Her tears slipped within the cracks, a salty sensation adding to the heartwarming memory. She grasped his suspenders in her fists, squinting despite the sun shining in her line of sight. "I will be your wife."

"And I... will the happiest man in Mystic Falls." Kalliope would never forget the wide grin gracing his face on this day. With the sun shining and his nose nipped by the slight chill of the late Autumn afternoon. Raven locks blowing heroically in the breeze.

She was content with this image. This motion capture in time. It was probably her brightest day in her entire lifetime, which was a great sum by now. She has had many lifetimes, maybe too many.

But she hoped, prayed, that this one would count for something other than heartbreak.

Sadly, she didn't pray hard enough...

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Unedited. 01/23/2021

Don't ask questions, just go with it. I have changed some canon things around. Inspiration comes in many forms, my friend.

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